"I tell you the truth..." *in my Jesus voice*

I have no smooth intro for you with this blog post. I am just going to dive right into it. I pray that God blesses this post enough so that even one soul will be saved. The purpose of this post is to tell you the truth about Satan (who is a liar), to shed light on the darkness that the enemy has you living in, and to let you know that GOD IS REAL.

So just a little questionnaire for you:

1. Do you truly know who you are?
2. Can you honestly say you love yourself?
3. Do you hate who you are/who you have become?
4. Do you know WHAT love is?
5. Do you know WHO love is?
6. Do you truly believe without a shadow of a doubt that God IS REAL and He loves you? *hopefully you raised your hand, said "I do", and smiled* Because God is VERY real, He is the TRUE LIVING GOD, and He loves you! Irrevocably, unconditionally, with no limits and no boundaries! HE LOVES US. He loves me. HE loves YOU.
7. Now, do you truly believe without a shadow of a doubt that Satan IS REAL and he HATES you? *hopefully you raised your hand, pound your fist in your palm, maybe even sneered a little bit* Because Satan HATES you. And he spends his days seeking and plotting ways to KILL YOU.

It is hard to believe in something that you cannot see, trace, nor feel. Some of us think of God as a fairytale. We think "so there's this big man, who sleeps in the clouds, and who is all powerful and he sees everything that is going on in the world and he's always there....but we are not allowed to see him nor feel him??? WHAT IS THAT???" Well I cannot change your thoughts but I can tell you about the moment I knew without a shadow of a doubt that God is real.
I was living in darkness. Here I was - I grew up in church, sang in the choir, was a part of the dance ministry, a part of the clean up crew but was a lesbian, a liar, and was rebellious toward authority. I disrespected my mom, manipulated and deceived those around me and I did not know how to be a friend nor love those around me. I was lost. Filled with unnatural desires and lust, I slept with girls and also 'converted' those who were curious in what I was doing. I WAS AWFUL.

God sent someone to witness to me and tell me that "it is so much more to life than the life you have been living. God has so much in store for you. The enemy has you thinking that this is how life is supposed to be but you are acting as a victim. The devil has set out to kill your spirit, steal your purpose, and destroy your life. The veil is on your eyes so that you cannot see that the life that you are living is devouring you and swallowing you whole. Satan wants you to be broken, bruised, battered, depressed, and living in self-victimization. Jesus came so that you will be whole, full, joyful, hopeful, peaceful, purposeful, powerful, strong, and have life and life more abundantly. All you have to do is say the word. Right now you are dying... Are you ready to live?"
It was in that moment that I began crying uncontrollably, shaking, breathing heavily and I just felt so overwhelmed but when I said "YES" a cooling, calming presence swept over me and I lost control. I then realized that I was not satisfied with who I was and how I treated people. I then began to look in the mirror and see something different in me. But it took time for me truly allow God in because I thought the worst about myself.
What stops us from receiving God’s love and forgiveness is the picture we paint of ourselves. Our parents, friends, society already has a box for us…but it’s the box that we put ourselves in that matter. Now a days we take pride in being “nonchalant, callous, lovers of money and not others, non-believers, etc”. We want others to think we don’t care about anything, we’re not looking for love, we don’t need friends, “I do everything on my own because I don’t need anybody else”, “I’m not vulnerable”, “I am not weak”. So we box up all these things and then hop right on in the box, becoming shaped in a lie.
Therefore, with our messed up way of thinking, we harden our hearts toward receiving the love of God because of how we view love and ultimately because we do not know how to love ourselves which leads us to not know how to properly love others. We scoff at forgiveness because we think “I am a horrible person. The things I’ve done?! HA! Who in the world would forgive me?”
It’s in inviting God in and accepting His presence that we are introduced to who we really are and who God is. If we can be honest, some of us like our lives in disarray. We want to be “monsters” that we have painted ourselves to be in our heads. But that image that you have of yourself is a LIE. Until you know God, who is the way, the TRUTH, and the light, you will continue to live in a LIE.
The enemy (the devil, Lucifer, the fallen angel – YES, he is YOUR enemy) wants to stop you from knowing God because he knows you will then WAKE UP and DESIRE to become who God has called you to be. The devil knows that the day you find out who you really are, he doesn’t stand a chance in controlling you any longer.

• "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27)
• You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)
• You are born with power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)
• You are strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9)

LISTEN: THE DEVIL IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. HE IS NOT YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL. HE USES YOU TO COMMIT HORRIBLE ACTS, HE MANIPULATES YOU INTO THINKING YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN YOU ARE RIGHT NOW, HE STEALS EVERY GOOD THING FROM YOU (HA! And here you are thinking you’ve been living a grand life!). THE DEVIL HATES YOU BECAUSE JESUS DIED FOR YOU. THE DEVIL HATES YOU!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE, UNDERSTAND THAT, ALLOW THAT TO SINK IN.

1. 1 Peter 5:8 NLT “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
2. Jesus replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you..." (Luke 10:18-20)

God loves us so much that He sent His son JESUS to DIE FOR US (Need proof? CLICK HERE). GOD THOUGHT YOU WERE TO DIE FOR. What has the devil done for you? The devil is the reason why you grew up with the bondage of generational curses, the devil is the reason why your dad left you, the devil is the reason that your mom had/has cancer, the devil is the reason why you are mean-spirited, the devil is the reason why you can’t forgive anyone, the devil is the reason why you do not want to love anyone, the devil is the reason why that person keeps treating you the way they're treating you, the devil is the reason why you can’t trust anyone, the devil is the reason why you can’t ever reconcile with anyone, the devil is the reason why you are confused, the devil is the reason why you are depressed, the devil is the reason why you tried to commit suicide – THE DEVIL IS NOT FOR YOU! GOD IS FOR YOU!

1. John 10:10 ESV “The thief (devil; enemy) comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I (Jesus) came that they (you) may have life and have it abundantly.”
2. I come to you with hopes that you will "come to your senses and escape from the devil's trap. For you have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants" (2 Timothy 2:26 NLT).

When you are happy, the enemy wishes to steal that from you. When you begin to trust someone, the enemy wishes to break that trust. When you desire to try new things, the enemy wishes to keep you stagnant. The enemy is so crafty in all of his ways. He distracts us because he is described as being beautiful and perfect in wisdom. Of course we want what appeals to all of our senses.
"Satan is often comically portrayed as a guy in a red devil suit. He probably likes it this way, since most people (including Christians) are apt to disbelieve in his existence. As a "non-existent" force in people's lives, Satan is free to influence them without being discovered as the cause of many of their problems. However, the Bible says that Satan is a beautiful and powerful fallen angel, who would like to do nothing more than take away the joy of Christians through deception, and lead people into rebellion against God..." (Who is Satan?, Deem, Rich)

God has great plans for your life! (Don't believe me? CLICK HERE) He wishes for you to be free from the cares of this world and to LIVE LIFE in ABUNDANCE through Christ Jesus!
Are you really ready to live?
If so, confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that God raised Jesus from the dead." Romans 10:10 says, "[If] We believe with our hearts, we are made right with God. And we declare with our mouths that we believe, and so we are saved." ANYONE WHO TRUSTS IN THE LORD WILL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED!
HALLELUJAH! You are now a part of the land of the living! You are a part of a royal priesthood (Don't believe me?! CLICK HERE!) I will be praying for you! God is smiling at you right now in this moment. He is saying, "I died for a time such as this. I love you. Welcome home."



Until next time,
I LOVE YOU!